For She Had Eyes and Chose Me
by Texas Variety Katie-Bug
Summary: In the middle of the zombie apocalypse Gajeel and Juvia escape Phantom Lord, trying to find a new safe place to call home, only to find Levy in the middle of the forest, in the middle of the night, being attacked because she won't let go of her damn books. Maybe home is with this shrimp in a place called Fairy Tail... Gale with hints of Nalu and Gruvia.
1. 1) Fall of Phantom Lord

Chapter One: Fall of Phantom Lord

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 _"Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them." -Twelfth Night_

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There was little he couldn't accomplish. He was the best damn zombie killer in the entirety of Phantom Lord. He had killed hundreds of the stinking bastards, taking them on, one on one, or five on one. There had never been a fight he couldn't win.

Of course, that was about to change.

"Dammit," he yelled, swinging his iron club at one of the rotting heads of the creature that began to close in on him, sending it flying a good two meters away, causing the body to fall to the ground. He watched as its nerves gave a last few shakes before finally falling still. "How many of these bastards are there?"

"I don't know!" A feminine reply came from his left, followed by the sound of a hard _thwack,_ and the thump of a head and body hitting the ground, one immediately following the other. Gajeel looked at the person who spoke, seeing Juvia taking on three of the stinking creatures herself. He swung his club, knocking off two of the heads at once, Juvia taking on the third herself, getting it to fall away after three strong hits with her dulling, rust crusted machete.

"How'd they get in anyway?" The base had to be crawling with hundreds of zombies. It was peaceful only minutes ago. The two of them were in the dining hall, receiving their rations, when alarms started to blare throughout the camp. They ran outside with their weapons only to see their home overrun.

"I think it was through the north entrance!" The north entrance was their most fortified entrance, as it was the main one and closest to all of their homes, but if the security failed it was also the one most vulnerable to attacks. Why the security failed, he had no idea. The only other gate was the west gate, where the zombie's seemed to be headed, probably because of the large amounts of people congregating there.

While those unable to fight attempted to flee, the strongest members fought, Sol throwing large rocks at the invaders, but quickly becoming surrounded, and the amount of large rocks he was using as ammoniation quickly lessening. It would only be a matter of time before the man was taken over and joined the ranks of the undead. Sure enough, there was nothing Gajeel or Juvia could do but watch as the zombies closed in and began to tear at Sol's flesh, biting at him, causing Sol to collapse on the ground. It would only be a matter of time before he stood back up, joining the enemy's ranks.

Totomaru faired only slightly better, with fewer on his trail, perched on top of one of the dilapidated wooden buildings, a pair of torches in his possession, one in each hand. Anytime one of the zombies got close, Totomaru would set it on fire, watching it until it burned away. This method began went to hell after a particularly active zombie went up in flames. It ran around, as fast as it could manage, and caught the dry wood of the house, setting it ablaze. Gajeel and Julia watched in horror as the building that he was using as refuge went up in flames, consuming Totomaru with the anguished screams of someone being burned alive.

It was even too late for Aria, once thought to be almost invincible by both Gajeel and Juvia. He was slumped over, the bandages that covered his face falling off of his body, his eyes plucked out of his skull, being eaten by one of the zombies like they were a pair of grotesque, bloodied grapes.

At the head of it all, the leader of Phantom Lord stood on top of a tower at the west entrance, using the little power the measly generator had conjured up, protecting himself with the combination of an electrified fence and shotgun to take down any of the zombies who came close to him, but also effectively blocking anyone's escape. "Jose, please," one of the members called, "turn off the fence and let us through!"

"And let you abandon Phantom Lord? Never. Go fight and if you lose your life in the process, so be it!" The member trying to escape looked on, shocked and horrified at what the man who claimed to protect them said. Give their lives? They just wanted to live in peace. Very few of the people remaining had experience fighting.

Gajeel knew that this was going to happen. He knew that if the base ever came under fire that Jose would never give it up. He would fight to the death, bringing those around him with it. When he had gone beyond the walls of Phantom Lord with Jose, Juvia, Sol, Totomaru and Aria, he had seen horrors. Jose had sent dozens of members to their deaths, making them be bait to drive away the zombies, or torturing them to cause the member to scream, drawing the zombies near only to abandon them when the zombies finally smell the blood. Of course there were no survivors. Gajeel had even seen some of these people walking with the other undead. He wasn't going to allow himself to have that kind of end. He refused. He was going to escape.

"Juvia, this way." He grabbed the woman's wrist and dragged her along, taking paths in a shadows, using his club to decapitate the occasional zombie, until he reached a secluded corner of the camp. It was bare, filled with dead crops from a failed harvest, dead leaves and dry dirt caddy-cornered against a wall. "Keep watch," Gajeel said, passing Juvia the club, knowing she was more than capable of defeating any creatures that came their way.

She nodded and placed the machete in her belt and held up the club. She gave Gajeel a curious glance as he got on his hands and knees and began digging away, but held her stance. A few minutes later Gajeel pulled a wooden crate out of the ground, opened it, and produced a few basic supplies all stuffed into a black backpack: a knife, some dried food, two metal water bottles, both filled, a rope, and a first aid kit. "Gajeel, what is all this?"

"You didn't think we'd stay here forever, didn't you?" Gajeel replied before beginning to scale the wall. The chinks in the brick weren't noticeable at first, but upon closer examination it was easy to see someone had carefully carved out foot and handholds. The electric fence that surrounded the perimeter of Phantom Lord had been cut away at the top, leaving an almost undetectable place to climb through. At the top of the wall Gajeel extended a muscular arm, reaching for the club from Juvia. "Hold on," he said, and she did so, and Gajeel hoisted her up over the wall with him.

"Where are we going to go?" Juvia looked around the forest outside the wall, drawing her arms close to her in a defensive position. It was obvious she wasn't comfortable being this far out in the open. Frankly, Gajeel wasn't a fan of it either. "Are we going to find a new home?"

Gajeel gave the Phantom Lord emblem on his bicep a glance, then sighed. "Not like we have much of a choice, huh?" He stepped out into the forest, Juvia on his heels. They were going to survive.

Screams continued to be heard from behind the walls. People he knew were being killed. Smoke was rising from inside. It didn't take a genius to know that this was the end of the life they once knew. They walked on, heading south. Being out in the open, exposed like this, they were gambling with their lives.

The sun was starting to set and the night was beginning to come in, bringing the cold air with it. No moon lit up the sky, so only the faint light of stars breaking through the treetops guided them, so they were essentially walking in complete darkness. "At least the zombies can't see us either."

"That's little comfort, Gajeel. We could easily walk into one of their nests without even realizing it."

He knew that Juvia was right, but all he did to acknowledge this was give a gruff grunt before continuing onward. A faint amber light showed itself in the distance. "Move!" He pushed Juvia down by one of the bushes and they watched the light rush towards them, beginning to illuminate a shadowy figure that made their way towards them.

"What is it?" Juvia asked, her voice hardly above a whisper.

Three or four zombies ran behind the figure with the light, chasing it down. "Someone being chased by zombies."

"Should we help them?"

His and Juvia's life, or some random stranger's? "Probably not."

"Gaje-"

"Shh."

The shadowed figure came into sight, only a few feet away from their hiding place. She was a young woman, running away, struggling with the backpack on her back that seemed to burst at the seams filled with something, likely supplies. Of course, just feet away from the pair, she fell over, letting out a squeal of pain, backing away from the encroaching zombies. He didn't know what came over him, but he happened to catch a glimpse of her eyes, brown and shining even in the dark, terrified, like a deer in the headlights.

In a moment that would change his life forever, he burst from the bushes, club in hand, ready to pound in heads. Of course, he didn't know this action would change everything.

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 _Long time no see fanfiction! I've been super busy, so sorry! I promise I'm coming back and I will be finishing Broken in the MLB fandom soon! The play I'm in is just taking up a ton of time (not that I'm not enjoying every second of it!) and I'm working on my new job! Since the show opens Friday my weekdays will clear up and I should be able to write more! Yay! This story is going to be about seventeen chapters and they'll be pretty short chapters, around the length of this chapter, if not a tad bit longer. I hope y'all enjoy this zombie fic (the first I've written on any of my accounts). It should be an... interesting read, if nothing else! Let me know y'all's thoughts and I hope y'all had a Happy Easter/April Fool's Day!_


	2. 2) Levy Versus the Books

Chapter Two: Levy Versus the Books

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 _"You cannot open a book without learning something," -Confucius_

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The night was a bit chillier than the previous ones, but the moon was full and there was no sign of rain anytime soon. This night was as good a time as any to go on a raid, not that she would tell anyone about this one.

Fairy Tail, the safe haven that had kept her safe throughout all this time, was composed of thirty or so members in twenty-six houses on two blocks of residential street. The perimeter was surrounded by strong, metal bars, with chicken wire woven throughout and electrified with eight generators that one of the members, Laxus, had set up. The generators, one on each corner and one in the center of each of the fencing, provided some electricity to the houses inside, and, more importantly, electrified the fences to keep the zombies out. About fifty feet outside of the fence was another fence made up of a combination of barbed wire, chicken wire, and brightly painted metal cans, who's purpose was to alert anyone nearby that there were zombies approaching. By the generators on the corner two story wooden watch towers had been constructed, and, no matter what, they were always filled with someone armed with a gun, keeping watch, day or night, to make sure none of the zombies broke into their home.

Levy liked Fairy Tail the way it was. The place was safe and comfortable, and everyone had their job to make sure it stayed that way. Each one of the former houses that made up their compound had a purpose. Lucy ran a radio station out of her and Natsu's home, calling out to anyone in a seventy-five mile radius, letting them know Fairy Tail was here to help in-between songs that were once about everyday life. Natsu, Gray and Erza almost daily travelled beyond the walls to battle zombies and come back with rations and supplies for everyone. Their houses had rooms that were stocked with supplies and weapons any of them might need to take out the undead. Even Wendy, one of the youngest members, pulled her weight well. She had trained herself in medicine and ran an infirmary out of her little house.

Levy filled her home with books. Books of all sorts. Fiction and nonfiction titles filled two of the bedrooms completely. A third bedroom was her's, still filled with an assortment of titles, but also included a bed for her to sleep on and a desk for her to take inventory and stock of what she had. She converted the master bedroom into a reading room for everyone so that they could just sit and relax, reading and learning what they could. Still, Levy feared her collection was limited. There was only so much they could do with the collection that she had. None of the books she had provided them any answers on how to stop the zombie army, or even how to survive the world around them. The nonfiction books she had were often old college textbooks for very specialized purposes that someone found while raiding supplies, and as much as she got excited about receiving the new book, there was only so much the guild could do with "The History of Theatre" and "Governing Texas." She was going to make her library useful, like the old days. Her friends would be able to go in and get anything they needed.

That's why she decided she needed to do this. The library was her project. No one knew it as well as her, and she doubted anyone ever would. Very few people realized to what extent knowledge would play in getting them safe forever. This night seemed like a perfect one to go out. She knew that one of the city libraries was in the same shopping complex as a Barnes and Nobles, and that complex was only an hour away. Levy put on a pair of blue jeans, knowing the thick material would protect her from the overgrow that had begun to take over the city, a long sleeved shirt, for the same reason, and to protect her from the brisk air, and a pair of brown leather boots, a pair she reserved for the rare days she ventured outside. She pulled her curls back with a headband, grabbed the biggest backpack she had, a water bottle, flashlight and a knife and a small hammer to arm herself with, and went stepped outside.

Her front door was directly across from the Southside generator, the one that didn't have a watchtower. She would have to be careful in her escape. There was a gate that could be used to leave the compound, but she would have to make sure no one saw her open it. She would also have to be careful to not trip any of the noisemakers. One false move and she would be caught. Her literary raid would be over before it even began.

Levy carefully opened the gate, with a bit of difficultly. There was a bit of rust forming on the hinges from the lack of use. That probably wasn't good. When she returned she would have to tell somebody about that. She crept her way outside, quietly closing the gate behind her, before gingerly making her way over to the noisemaker border. She carefully stepped around the cans, making sure no attention was attracted to herself. When she was free she started running. There was no wall keeping the zombies out. She needed to get to the library and bookstore quickly. It would take an hour for her to get there, an hour or two for her to get what she needed, and an hour for her to get back. This was a one night expedition. A one night expedition that would possibly save all of her friends, or might lead to her death. Levy shook the bad thoughts away. She wasn't going to let that happen. She had to come back alive. She was going to use these books to learn all she could to help save the others in Fairy Tail.

About halfway to her destination she felt herself growing tired. She slowed her pace already from a run to a jog, and now she was slowing from a jog to a walk. "It's better this way," she told herself. "I don't have Jet's stamina, and I need to conserve my energy. If the zombies come I need to be able to outrun them."

Luck seemed to be on her side, though, as there was no sign of the undead. She made it to the long abandoned library safely. She grabbed her hammer and, after making sure that the coast was clear, swung hard at one of the glass windows, watching, a bit satisfied, as the glass crumbled around her. She looked over her shoulder once more, making sure the sound didn't attract any unwanted visitors. She let out a sight of relief when no one came. She carefully stepped into the library, wanting to avoid the sharp shards. She really didn't want to cut her leg open on glass after making it this far. Once making it into the building she turned on her flashlight a looked around, unable to keep the smile off of her face. This was it. This was the library.

Levy wanted to take her time, wandering around the aisles, getting lost in the infinite amount of pages, but she stopped herself. She had a job to do. There was a mental checklist in her head of what she needed to find. Medical textbooks for Wendy to help with first aide, astronomy for Lucy so she could help others find Fairy Tail through the use of star charting, pyrotechnics for Natsu so he could safely create bombs (not like the last few attempts where he almost blew up parts of the compound). She could get plant identification books for Droy and athletic workout books for Jet… she had an idea of what to get for everyone. She opened her bag and started going through the shelves, collecting anything that she deemed useful. After she was satisfied she zipped up her backpack and left the building, seeing the old Barnes and Nobles at the other end of the parking lot. Like the library she looked around and smashed open the window with the hammer, climbed in, and looked around, once again wishing she was able to spend eternity here. She went to the different sections, finding cookbooks, more medical textbooks, children's workbooks and language learning books. She filled her backpack completely, making it extremely heavy and difficult to carry herself. Maybe she underestimated the amount of time it would take to get back home. Stepping out of the Barnes and Nobles she looked at the sky and saw the moon was still high up. She had time. She would be back before anyone noticed she was gone.

An hour passed since she began the track home. She was maybe halfway. Her shoulders had been sore for at least the past forty-five minutes. She sighed and looked around, taking a seat on an old curb, placing the backpack beside her and picking up her bottle of water. She was a decent way through, only having about a fourth of the bottle left, but she refused to drink it all. She needed to save some for the rest of the journey. She took a couple of swallows, then felt her blood go cold. She could see them coming, a horde of zombies. There was only a few of them, but it was still more than she would be able to take on. Maybe four of them? With her knife and hammer she'd be lucky to take one or two of them out. She grabbed the flashlight, threw the backpack back on her shoulders, and began to run, hoping she hadn't been noticed. Her luck had run out, though, because they noticed, and started chasing her.

Levy ran. She didn't know she could run so fast, or get so fatigued doing so. All logic told her to drop the books. If she did that she would easily be able to escape them, but that would have made this whole outing for nothing. These books were precious resources. No, she just had to keep running, keep pushing on. She could hear them getting closer. She could hear their feet pounding on the ground behind her. She had to run. Keep running. Keep running. Then she came crashing down. She let out a squeak of pain as she realized her ankle was severely twisted, possibly sprained. This was it, wasn't it? This was going to be her end. Her love of books was going to kill her. She supposed there were worse things to die for. Levy held up her knife as a meager defense, but knew it would be useless. She closed her eyes and waited for the end to come.

It didn't come. There was a series of loud bangs and Levy opened her eyes, seeing the heads of the zombies bashed on the ground. She looked up to see her savior, a rugged, wild looking man, panting, holding a metal club in his hand. Fresh blood from the undead was flecked onto his face, and dried blood was caked onto his clothes. "Oi, what they hell were you thinking?" He asked, extending a hand to the girl. "Do you have a death wish?"

She was too stunned to respond. All she could do was look at the wild man. In the old days she would have been afraid of him. She would have tabled him a delinquent and avoided him at all costs. Standing here though he looked like a survivor. He looked like someone she wanted to be. "What, are you mute too?"

Levy shook her head, her curls bouncing every which way. "N-no. Uh, thanks for saving me." She accepted his outstretched hand and attempted to stand up, only to wince and fall back down.

"Shit." The guy looked over his shoulder and called out to an overgrown bush a few feet away. "Juvia, come take a look at this."

A woman stepped out from behind the bush and came over to Levy, crouching down to take a look. She took the boot off of her foot and held it gently, Levy wincing at the slightest touch. "It's a bad sprain, possibly a break."

"Where were you headed, girl?" The man asked.

"South. I live in a compound not too far from here."

"And you thought the middle of the night, by yourself, was an ideal time to make a supply run? How stupid are you?" The man picked up the backpack and grunted at the weight. "What the hell do you have in here? Rocks?"

"Books."

The man slung the backpack over his shoulder, the weight looking like it had no effect on him. "You mean you risked your life for a bunch of dumb books?"

Levy puffed out her cheeks. He looked like a survivor, but how on earth did he manage without realizing that knowledge is what was going to save humanity. "Dumb? I am more than happy to risk my life for those, as you call them, dumb books." She felt herself getting lifted up into the air and slung over the other shoulder of the man who just saved her. "Hey! Put me down!"

"And leave you for dead? It's not like you can walk on that ankle of yours. You said your compound was south, right?"

Levy sighed. "Yeah, just keep going south from here. You'll turn eventually, but I'll tell you when."

"Alright. Juvia, grab my club, will ya? Keep watch."

"Got it."

The party made their way, or, more like the man led them back with Levy's instructions, until they reached the front gate of the compound. It was by one of the watch towers, where Alzack was standing guard. "Stop! Keep your hand where I can see them!" Alzack had his pistols raised at the intruders, ready to shoot just in case they tried to attack Fairy Tail. Levy pounded on the back of the man who was carrying her until he put her down, take care to make sure weight wasn't being put on her bad foot.

"Alzack, it's me, Levy!"

Alzack put down his pistols and looked at her confused. "Levy? What are you doing out there?" He hopped down from his tower and made his way to the gate, opening it and letting the trio inside, running over to support Levy as she limped.

"I snuck out."

"Snuck out? Levy, were you trying to get yourself killed?"

She shook her head. "No, I just wanted to help everyone. I guess I got into a bit of trouble, though. I'm just lucky that these two showed up when they did. If they hadn't I'd be a zombie by now."

The man placed the heavy backpack on the ground and Alzack made his way over to it. "Is this what you went to get?" He opened the bag and sighed. "Books? Really Levy?"

In an attempt to soften the blow she sat down and dug into the backpack and pulled out the series of children's workbooks. "I thought Asuka would like having these. She likes it when I read her stories at the library so I thought she would enjoy learning to read and write."

"Don't change the subject, Levy! You shouldn't have gone out! You almost died and none of us would have known what happened to you." Levy nodded, knowing what Alzack said was true. "I'll take you to Wendy's." Alzack then turned his attention to the other two. "Thanks for saving her. If you follow me after I take Levy to get her foot fixed up I'll take you two to the master. I'm sure the two of you will be more than welcome to stay after what you've done for us."

Levy was escorted to the infirmary and watched her two saviors go. She let out a sigh and prayed that the books would be enough to last their compound for a while.

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 _Sorry this took forever to update everyone! Frankly, the lack of reviews bummed me out and my other projects were getting reviews so I focused on them. But I still liked writing this story so I thought I should keep it up. I had about half of it written before I went to bed, then I fell asleep for about two hours, then woke up and decided to spend the past couple of hours finishing it up. This chapter lapped the first one in terms of length, lol._

 _I really hoped y'all enjoyed it because I really don't know what y'all think of it. Either way I won't let that get in the way of me updating. Let me know y'all's thoughts so I can make this story better for y'all. See y'all soon!_


	3. 3) Gajeel Isn't Happy

Chapter Three: Gajeel Isn't Happy

 _"Live life to the fullest and focus on the positive," -Matt Cameron_

"It's broken," Wendy said.

"What?" She wasn't sure she heard that right. There was no way Wendy just said-

"Sorry Levy, it's broken. Honestly, there's not much I can do for it. I'll wrap it up for you, but you'll have to stay off of it for ten weeks or so." Levy hung her head. She had just managed to make everything worse. She wasn't going to be able to contribute to the compound like this. She would be nothing but a burden. She watched as Wendy made her way to the back of the room and picked up a pair of slightly rusted, but in otherwise pristine condition, crutches. "Here you go," Wendy said with a smile, passing her the medical materials. "Sit down when you can, but if you need to get around use these."

Levy sighed and gave a relenting smile. There wasn't anything she could do about it. This was the life she was going to be forced to live for the next ten weeks. "Will do!" She sounded far more chipper than she felt. "Thank you, Wendy."

Wendy shook her head and glanced over at a small table. "No, thank you! I can't believe you risked your life to get some books! I know this one on medicinal herbs is going to help everyone out. You're a hero, Levy."

She could feel heat begin to rush to her cheeks. She was glad someone appreciated her efforts, and the gratitude was more than welcome, but having this much thanks given to her? "Hero? That's a bit much, Wendy. I'm glad you like it though."

"Do you have any recommendations for some fiction books? I've been getting done with my work a bit early lately and keep finding myself with more free time." Levy loved the girl in front of her. She loved books almost as much as Levy herself did, and the girl never said a negative thing about anyone. She was the perfect nurse for Fairy Tail, and a sweet companion for Levy. Perhaps she could start a book club soon. Wendy would be interested, but Lucy would too. She could probably convince Erza to come and enjoy herself as well. Nothing was better than relaxing quietly among friends. "Levy? Are you okay? You're spacing out."

Levy quickly pulled herself back to her senses. "Yeah. Sorry. I was just thinking about an idea for the library." She composed herself and thought about the fiction section that she had created. "Well, I think there are a few interesting ones. I'm sure you'd prefer a light-hearted read, right? Nothing too heavy or serious?"

Wendy nodded. "Yeah, that sounds nice."

She searched her mind a smiled when her mind found itself fixated one one particular book. "How does a story about magic sound? With a bit of romance of course."

"You thought of a book already?" Wendy looked at Levy amazed. "That was quick. What's it called?"

"It's called _Howl's Moving Castle_. It's a book I think you would really enjoy."

"Okay! I'll stop by and borrow it later. I'm really excited to read it."

In that time talking about books with Wendy, Levy had forgotten all about her broken ankle. The love she held for all things literary far outweighed any physical pain she felt.

While Levy sat with Wendy discussing her injury and books, Gajeel and Juvia found themselves in a different sort of meeting.

Alzack escorted the duo into a house in the center of the complex and entered. "Wait here," he said, gesturing to a couch that looked more well maintained than anything at Phantom Lord. The cushions weren't ripped open with yellow foam spilling out. The end pillows were threadbare and teeming with lice. No, it was clean. The couch was a simple brown leather one, but it looked like a couch from the days before. He took a seat on it, testing it out, finding himself more comfortable in this one seat than he had found himself in years. Gajeel looked around the room, noting everything was as nice and put together. The windows were clean, letting in the pale sunlight coming in with the rising sun, illuminating the comfortable room, painted a cream color. The end pillows were a deep red, a stark contrast from the brown and cream color-scheme the room possessed. Across from where he and Juvia sat was a tall brown bookshelf, holding three or four books and a variety of knick-knacks, ranging from glass figurines to old McDonalds toys. Who lived here? What were he and Juvia doing here?

He didn't know who he was expecting to walk through the door, but it wasn't some midget old man wearing obnoxiously bright clothes holding his hand up in a greeting with a blinding smile on his face. "So," he said, walking into the room, the man who Levy called Alzack at his heels, "you two much be the ones who rescued Levy! Gajeel and Juvia, right?" The old man bowed to them, bringing his head even closer to the ground than it already was. "I must thank you for that. She's an important member of our community and I don't know what we would've done without her."

"An important member?" Frankly, Gajeel had his doubts. How could that shrimp be useful? She was risking her life for a bunch of books. She didn't seem to know how to fight and almost found herself killed because of it.

The old man smiled. "You have your doubts, don't you, young man?" Gajeel just let out a grunt in response. "Well, everyone here is an important member. Not everyone possesses talents that let them kill zombies. Some people possess talents that manifest themselves in other ways. Some people are able to produce food for us, other's are able to heal, and some people, like Levy, keep everyone's spirits up."

Keeping everyone's spirits up? What a load of bullshit. If that was the only talent someone had at Phantom Lord then they would have been given to the zombies as bait years ago when this mess broke out. "I don't see how that would help anything."

The old man looked the two of them over. "You two seem capable. What brought you over to our compound?"

Juvia was the one to volunteer to speak up after she and Gajeel exchanged glances. "We lived at the Phantom Lord compound but recently it was destroyed. We suspect we're the only survivors."

The old man's face grew solemn. "Well, I'm sorry to hear about that. I'm glad you two were able to make it out safely, though. Why don't you come live at Fairy Tail? We will easily be able to find a place for you. You would have to work to live here, but we will be able to find some use for your talents. You both seem incredibly capable."

"We were among the top scouts at Phantom Lord," Juvia offered, calmly presenting the facts.

"Wonderful! Well, why don't I find places for the two of you to stay then. As of this moment you two are officially members of the Fairy Tail compound. My name is Mokorov and I'm the leader here, so if you have any questions please come and ask. I will not hesitate to open my door to you." Mokorov then went and pulled out a map that seemed to be drawn on pieces of computer paper stapled together. Despite the crudeness of the materials used to create the map, it was beautifully maintained. The houses drawn on it were detailed. Green spots depicting backyards turned into fields labeled what produce was grown there. Small pictures on each of the houses labeled what was inside each one. There was a house with a radio depicted, and another with medicine, really it could go on. "How about this," Mokorov said, "we haven't had any empty homes in a while, and we don't have the resources right now to expand, so you'll just have to share a house with someone." Gajeel and Julia weren't in the place to object, so they just looked at the map. "Juvia," Mokorov pointed at a house with weapons drawn on it, and ice for some reason, "you can share with Gray. I know a large part of his house is empty. He'll have room for you."

"Thank you very much, Mr. Mokorov."

Mokorov laughed. "Mokorov is just fine, Juvia. Adding the mister in front makes me sound like an old man." Gajeel had to stop himself from interjecting, pointing out that he was, in fact, an old man. He settled with just smirking instead. "Alzack why don't you escort Juvia here? I'll take Gajeel myself."

"Yessir," Alzack said, before offering an arm to the woman. "Right this way, miss."

The two left, just leaving Gajeel and Mokorov with one another. "You seem like you've had a hard time, Gajeel. I've heard of Phantom Lord. I've met Jose in the past and he was a tyrant, putting it mildly. You said you didn't see the value of keeping people's spirits up?"

"We're all going to die anyway. What's the point?"

The old man looked saddened by his response. "Why are you trying to live, Gajeel?"

What kind of question was that? "Because I don't want to die."

"And what are you living for?"

Living for? "I don't know what you mean, old man."

"What is driving you to stay alive? Why do you want to live? Why don't you want to die?"

He had never thought about it. Why was he living? "What are you asking?"

Mokorov sighed. "Maybe there's a reason you were brought here, Gajeel. Fairy Tail needs strong men like you, but I think you might need us as well."

"What are you getting off at?" Gajeel could feel anger boiling up inside him, but he controlled himself, not letting it erupt. "I don't need you!"

"If you didn't need us why didn't you leave?"

Because he knew he wouldn't last long out there. He had seen it countless times. People were fed up and left the safety of the compound. Within a few days they were shambling corpses. It didn't matter how strong they were, or how smart. No one survived out there. No one. "Fine. What do you want from me?"

"I'm going to put you here," Morokrov said, pointing to the map. His finger laid down on the house with the book depicted on it. Even he knew who that house belonged to. "Levy can find room for you and I think the two of you could benefit from each other."

"No way. I'm not becoming roommates with that shrimp."

Mokorov began to fold up the map. "If that's the case then have fun out there trying to survive on your own."

"What the hell, old man?" He was under the impression that he wanted to keep people alive, not throw them out just because they didn't agree with what he said.

"Follow me, now." Mokorov led the way out of the house and down the street. Gajeel couldn't appreciate it earlier, but the compound looked good. The lawns were overgrown, but not terribly. The houses were sturdy brick ones that looked like they were kept with pride. Cars were parked in the driveways, but he could tell they weren't used. They were just leftovers from the days before. They walked down the sidewalk until they reached a house with gray brick. There was a huge tree in the center of the yard shadowing over the sand colored stone driveway. A wooden bench sat in a corner with some ivy, and on the other side of the yard, two or three smaller trees clustered together, providing a shady spot where wooden chairs were dragged out and placed under. "This is where you'll be staying."

It was nicer than his old shack in Phantom Lord, which was an old mobile home with the windows missing. He was amazed with Fairy Tail. If he hadn't known otherwise, he would have guessed that the zombies had never reached here. Mokorov opened the door and led the way inside. There was a large living room with three blue, cream and brown striped plush chairs and a matching cream colored couch with sinking cushions from use. The walls were painted blue. A room on the left led to a comfy looking brown room with a large brown sectional covered with orange blankets and old patchwork quilts. A part of the sectional was covered in a tattered cream blanket, covering where yellow foam was threatening to spill out. He turned the other way and saw a large kitchen, with a marble island in the center. A skylight shone light down on it. A window bench on one side of the kitchen was covered in herbs in various pots, all painted, all signed "Love Droy." Gajeel made his way out of kitchen and looked into the first bedroom. It was a sight to behold. There was no bed, but huge floor to ceiling shelves were filled with books. The tops of each self was labeled with yellowing printer paper and bright metallic marker. Mystery, Biography, True Crime, etc,. He looked on the door and saw that there was a sign in metallic marker reading NonFiction. He was impressed. He made his way to the other bedrooms, seeing equally impressive and well organized collections. There was still no bed in sight. The middle of the hall had a room labeled "Do Not Enter" in neat handwriting. Naturally, he did just that.

The room was gray in color, with a large, Queen bed up against the back corner. The room looked soft, with one side of the room covered in yet another full bookshelf, as if there weren't enough books in this place, a small couch with a small table in front of it, and a pair of white desks, opposite one another, the one next to the bed had a mirror hanging over it. Of course, Gajeel didn't notice any of this. He was too busy looking at the woman on front of him, who was sitting on the ground, her ankle bandaged and resting on a pillow, her shoulders slumped over the coffee table, reading a book, wearing nothing but a white bra and some lacy underwear. Then she noticed him staring, and screamed.

* * *

 _Sorry for the wait. I was taking classes all summer and got a second job. I've been pretty busy! Still, I hope this is a fun read. My final is this Friday, I get a week off, then I'm right back to classes on the 27th of this month. I'm taking more classes but they're a bit more spread out so hopefully things will work out! Let me know y'all's thoughts on this chapter and I'll see y'all soon._


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